Environmental Chemical Exposure Research and Characteristics of Study Subjects Recruited from Midwifery vs. Hospital Based Clinics

Deslyn Wright, BSc, RN, Sandra Gregorovich, MD, Suzanne Hamilton, BSc, RN, Pamela Lukas, BSc, and Warren G. Foster, PhD

ABSTRACT
Exposure to environmental contaminants during pregnancy is thought to play a role in the reported increase in developmental abnormalities of the male reproductive tract and rise in the rates in testicular cancer among young men as well as increasing prevalence of allergy, asthma, obesity, and diabetes in the general population. Traditional epidemiological studies have recruited pregnant women from hospital clinics, delivery wards or physician offices. Recruitment of expectant mothers from midwifery clinics is being employed in ongoing studies and comparison of study subject characteristics suggests that there are no important differences in the socioeconomic indicators. Hence we suggest that midwives have an important role to play in future epidemiological studies designed to determine the health consequences of exposure to environmental contaminants.

KEYWORDS
development, pregnancy, toxicology, exposure, and contaminants

This article has been peer-reviewed.